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Syrian Social Hack Co-Opts Fighter's Computers

hij (552932) writes "The BBC is reporting that Syrian government forces used a social hack to gain access to opposing forces computers. By acting like women sympathetic to their cause they were able to send images laced with malware to the fighters. From the article: "Fake 'femme fatales' have been used to steal battle plans and other data from Syrian opposition groups, a report suggests. The virtual women had been used in text chat on Skype to engage potential victims, security company FireEye said. And data had been stolen via booby-trapped images of the women to whom the victims had believed they had been chatting."

3 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. booby-trapped by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Gives a new meaning to the name.

  2. who still falls for this picture.jpg.exe nonsense? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A random stranger sends you an executable file and tells you it's their picture. Go ahead, click on it.

    Yeah, seems legit. Come on.

    Anyone who falls for such transparent hacking attempts deserves what they get.

  3. In related news... by dfn5 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Opposition forces complain sympathetic women never look like their photos.

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    -- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.